Film and cameras that are all in one, commonly referred to as single-use or disposable cameras, have recently become well known. Typically, the single-use camera is a simple point-and-shoot type which comprises a plastic light-tight housing with a fixed-focus taking lens, a film metering mechanism, a single blade shutter, a frame (exposure) counter, possibly a built-in electronic flash unit, and a decorative cardboard casing containing the light-tight housing and having respective openings for the taking lens, a shutter release button, a film advance thumbwheel, a direct see-through viewfinder, the frame counter, and a flash emission window. At the manufacturer, the light-tight housing is loaded with a 12, 24, or 36 exposure 35 mm film cassette and substantially the entire length of the unexposed filmstrip is factory prewound from the cassette onto a spool in the housing or simply into a roll. Then, after the photographer takes a picture, he or she manually rotates the thumbwheel to rewind the exposed frame into the cassette. The rewinding movement of the filmstrip the equivalent of slightly more than one frame width rotates a metering sprocket to decrement the frame counter to its next lower-numbered setting. Further details of this operation are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,366, issued Aug. 10, 1993, and in U.S. Pat. 4,890,130, issued Dec. 26, 1989. When the maximum number of exposures available on the filmstrip are exposed and the filmstrip is completely rewound into the cassette, the camera is given to a photofinisher who first removes the cassette with the filmstrip from the housing to develop the negatives and then forwards the camera to the manufacturer for recycling. The manufacturer, in turn, recycles the camera by loading it with another roll of film and repeating the foregoing prewinding process.
Prior art Eur. Pat. Applic. 0 527 430 A1, published Feb. 17, 1993, discloses a single-use camera comprising a main body with a lens opening for a taking lens and a cassette chamber for a film cassette. The taking lens is attached to the main body and is located over the lens opening. A rear cover is attached to the main body to light-tightly seal the cassette chamber. A front cover is attached to the main body and a lens hood of the front cover is located around the taking lens. An exterior cardboard casing extends over the front and rear covers and the exposed top and bottom of the main body. To unload the film cassette from the cassette chamber to develop the negatives, the exterior casing is first torn away from the rear cover, and the rear cover is then separated from the main body to open the cassette chamber. When recycling the camera, it is preferable to replace the taking lens or at least remove it from the main body for cleaning. Therefore, the front cover must be separated from the main body.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,041, issued Oct. 19, 1993, discloses a single-use camera comprising an exterior decorative cardboard casing having an open end, and a light-tight housing arranged partly inside the exterior casing and having an end portion with a cassette chamber located outside the exterior casing. The end portion of the housing includes an integral door supported for opening movement to uncover the cassette chamber without being obstructed by the exterior casing. As a result, a film cassette can be removed from the cassette chamber to develop the negatives without having to first tear the exterior casing away from the housing as in Eur. Pat. Applic. 0 527 430 A1. However, the taking lens cannot be removed from the housing for replacement or at least cleaning during recycling.